The Greek election: voices of the voters

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/14/greek-election-syriza-voters-voices

Version 0 of 1.

Toula Fotopoulos, 55, Demitris Fotopoulos, 63, Panagiota Saltourou, 89, and her granddaughter Katerina, 31

Toula I voted for Syriza. Why would anyone vote for anything else, with pensions cut so much, taxes on property and electricity being cut off? There are stories of people in Greece resorting to burning wood fires at home and dying from smoke inhalation.

I’ve been working since I was 12 years old. Now I’m 55 and I’m not sure I’ll even get a pension. My wage has been cut from €1,300 (£943) a month to €700 (£508). I work in a company that makes wedding decorations, but people are not getting married any more – they are putting it off because of the financial crisis.

Related: The Greek election: why I went home to vote for the first time

Demitris I’ve been voting for Syriza since 1989. After the fall of the dictatorship I had supported the Communist party, but I became sick of them being narrow-minded.

Tsipras has breathed life into the party; he has fresh ideas. But I feel cautious and want to see how things go. I’m actually worried they have moved too far to the centre. I’m not against the party being populist, but I am concerned if Syriza moves too far to the right, because then they will have trouble smashing the union between the rich elite, the government and the media.

Previous governments embezzled the money of the Greek people; our pensions and taxes and national insurance. Now they tell us it has gone. And what about all the money from the European Union? They ate that, too.

But tax evasion was not just for rich people – everyone was doing it. The plumber would change a tap and say, “The bill is €50, but for cash it’s €30.” The system was set up like this.

Panagiota I didn’t vote for Syriza, I voted for New Democracy. For years we saved up and paid for a house of our own. Now we have to pay this new tax on it of €700 (£508) a year. Our pension, for me and my husband combined, is €700 a month.

Katerina I voted for Syriza. I think they deserved a chance. Greeks are angry at the former government for getting us into this mess and signing up for this debt repayment package. They betrayed the Greek people, imposed taxes on the poor and the middle class, and didn’t ensure the rich paid their taxes.

Corruption in Greece became the norm. For decades Pasok or New Democracy seemed the only choice. But now, finally, people are ready to try something more radical.

I am satisfied with the new agreement, but let’s see how it works in practice. It’s very positive that there is even a negotiation. Since the election there seems to be an optimistic atmosphere, but we are also all still waiting. I know I voted right. We have a voice now. We had nothing to lose, anyway.

Antigone Skorda, 61, her nephew Thanis Pavaskevopoulos, 32, and his mother Eleni Skorda, 64

Antigone I voted for the Communist party until 2009, and after that for the extreme left. But this year I voted for Syriza. I haven’t had a job for five years. I’m qualified to teach Greek language at secondary school level, but I just can’t find a job.

Thanis If we pull out of the euro, I have no idea what would happen. Would there be three months of riots? Could I buy something on Amazon in drachma? Would Italian spaghetti suddenly cost half my salary? Would my savings suddenly be valueless? In the last few years we have seen terrible things – 50-year-old Greeks looking in the trash for food. Doctors Without Borders, which normally works in Africa and developing countries, are now here in Athens and the rest of Greece.

I’ve always voted Syriza, since 2000. Their ideas just felt right. But only in 2012 did we begin talking as if they might win. Greeks felt guilty for our economic situation – we wondered if it was the bank’s fault, Europe’s fault, or our fault. And a large part of our society has benefited from European funds until now. We needed help three or four years ago. The “deal” with the IMF and the EU was obviously not working – look at the unemployment figures and the percentage of Greeks living below the poverty line.

Syriza want to find genuine solutions to the financial situation, and make genuine improvements to society. The result of the negotiations is not yet clear to many citizens, or even to the people who signed the agreement. It does give me pause for thought, but at least we are having the conversation. Two months ago, there was not even the chance of that.

Eleni I always voted for the Communist party, but this year I voted for Syriza. If this government succeeds in doing only 10% of what it’s promising, it will be a great success. People close to us are suffering. I have no savings except my pension – most families support or are supported by relatives. Thanis is lucky, he has a job. He left home two years ago, but he couldn’t have afforded to any earlier.

Maria Chrysanthakopoulos, 68, her son Giorgos, 44, and husband Christos, 78

Maria I used to vote Pasok, but I was very disappointed that it went into coalition with New Democracy and, since everyone else in the family was voting Syriza, I went with it also. I believe they will set the country on a better trajectory.

Giorgos I haven’t had a job since November – I’m a cinematographer. The film industry here has died, so I shoot video for weddings and baptisms, but people don’t even photograph their weddings any more: they use their mobile phones. The basic salary was €750 (£544) a month and it was cut to €520 (£377). I know people who can’t afford heating, can’t afford to feed their children. After one year of claiming unemployment benefit, that’s it, there is no social security.

There are 10 families who rule everything. One family rules petrol, one rules the media, one rules construction. There is a small circle of people who took the money from the EU and spent it. Now Europe wants it back from the Greek people.

I think we’re on the right path now that an extension to the bailout has been agreed. I like how Tsipras and Varoufakis explain everything. The legislation they are introducing seems to be exactly what they promised. There is no other hope for Greece: if Tsipras doesn’t pull this off, Greece is lost.

Christos I have eight brothers and sisters. Before, they all voted for Pasok, but this election we all voted for Syriza. I’d prefer to go back to the drachma and live on bread and olives, rather than our government giving in on the principles we voted for. It can’t be any worse than it’s been in the last three years. I paid into my pension for 40 years, and they have cut it by 35%.

Tsipras seems to have gained us a little time, some room to breathe. Diplomacy is always better than direct confrontation. I think most people had realistic expectations and there is still huge support for Tsipras. The Greek media have been incredibly negative, but people are calm. Tsipras touched my heart. I heard him and he sounded honest – it was a gut feeling. I know I made the right choice.

Eleni Vri, 23, and her mother Veni Stroggyli, 50

Eleni Syriza wants to raise the minimum wage, which is really good for us young people. I’m a graduate – I studied interior architectural design – and if I get a job at an architecture office they would pay me €500 (£362) before tax a month. For that amount I couldn’t move out of my parents’ house. Syriza say they will raise the minimum wage to €750 (£544) a month.

My boyfriend is 32 and still lives with his parents. Until last week he worked at a shipping company. The wage wasn’t enough to live where he wanted to, close to his work and friends. Then a week ago they fired him. Most of his friends are in the same position. His brother also lost his job in the last three weeks, and he has two children.

Young people cannot find jobs in Greece. I rely on my parents to survive. For everyday expenses, even to go out for a coffee, I get money from them. At the moment I’m working freelance and sending out CVs almost every day and going to interviews. But they either don’t call back, or they want people with more experience.

Veni I have a good life, but I don’t want our people to suffer. I don’t want to leave my house in a very expensive neighbourhood and see people searching through the rubbish bins, but I have seen that. This is why I voted for Syriza, which was a radical change for me. I wasn’t particularly attracted to them, it was a tactical vote: the other two major parties are thieves who have destroyed Greece with their corruption.

My job for the last 14 years has been head of the state VIP room at the airport, looking after VIPs from the Greek and foreign governments. I watched people from our government with their expensive cars, watches, shoes and handbags, followed by bodyguards. That tells me they don’t care about the people, they care only about themselves. That ended when we heard about the financial crash in the US, and then we had it here. The main road I take to work was suddenly full of car showrooms selling expensive cars repossessed from their owners.

I have been affected by the economic crisis, too, but much less so than others. My father worked in the civil aviation authority, but he lost his job. He used to support us a lot – he paid for Eleni to go to the British school in Athens and a private university. But now he has no money. His pension was reduced from €2,000 (£1,450) to €1,200 (£870) a month.

I think Syriza have made as good a deal as they could have. Germany has been very difficult. Every time Varoufakis spoke, Schäuble (Germany’s finance minister) looked like he might explode. Even if we have to leave the European Union, I’m not worried. We would suffer more, but I can live without new clothes and shoes; we’re going to build Greece again.

Irene Chatzicharalambous, 22, her grandmother Rena Dai, 86, and her mother Marita Dai, 51

Irene I didn’t vote for Syriza, because if in the future they prove to be arseholes, I’d feel bad that I helped them get elected. Instead, I voted for Antarsya, an anti-capitalist, communist party, which I knew couldn’t win.

Some people were worried that Syriza are too communist, but I think that’s ridiculous – they are actually too moderate, in my opinion. I have friends whose salary has decreased by 50% in the last two years. I’m now looking at waitress jobs that pay €300 (£217) a month – well below minimum wage.

Syriza has renegotiated, just like it promised it would before the election, but as of yet hasn’t achieved the miracle that its supporters expected. Nevertheless, it has gained valuable time. People are waiting to see where this path will lead and whether it will be significantly different. Everyone is very cautious.

Rena I voted for Syriza for a better future for our young people. They have graduated, but they are never going to get a job. The previous government is responsible for our financial crisis – they made bad choices and they ruined the country. People are homeless, they’ve lost their jobs – some people have taken their own lives.

In our social circle, no one has been affected in terms of being homeless, but we don’t have the luxuries that we used to have. The household bills are so expensive we just can’t afford things like holidays or going out to eat or to the cinema. I don’t have any savings any more – they are all used up.

Marita This crisis has hit both the middle class and the poor. We are all struggling now – our lifestyle has had to change.

I used to vote for Pasok, the old government, but they had failed in so many ways: there were no equal opportunities for people, just nepotism and poor services. I got tired of all this and I thought, let’s try Syriza and see what they can do.

The public healthcare system is awful. To get good care, you have to pay the doctors and nurses under the table. My husband had a terrible motorcycle accident, and had no health insurance. He was in a coma for months. He was left in a room like a dog. He died twice and was resuscitated. If I hadn’t personally known the director of the hospital, and asked her to help, he would be dead now.

Tsipras is planning to do so many good things. Raising the minimum wage was the most important to me. My daughter and other young people are finishing school and looking for a job, but they are lucky even to get a job offering €500 (£362) a month.

I have been very concerned about Greece’s possible exit from the euro – the thought is scary. But I’m very positive. I think Tsipras can find a way to manage Europe.

Interviews by Zed Nelson and Alex Andreou